FWW Looking for cool Basement shop

[PeteM]

40495.1
Hello again--
We are looking for a nice basement shop to feature in an upcoming issue. The usual problems are limited space, high moisture, poor light and wiring, poor access, noise and dust migrating into living space, and the difficulty of hanging things on the walls.
Do you or someone you know have nice basement shop that deals with some or all of those problems gracefully?
Let us know in this thread. Describe the shop a bit, focusing on the challenges listed above but also pointing out anything interesting. You can even post a few pictures to help us get a sense of the space and individual features. Thanks a lot.
--Asa (editor)

From Knots Forum
Woodguys shop should qualify.
Any others???

pete

[jeff...]

Originally Posted by PeteM

40495.1
Hello again--
We are looking for a nice basement shop to feature in an upcoming issue. The usual problems are limited space, high moisture, poor light and wiring, poor access, noise and dust migrating into living space, and the difficulty of hanging things on the walls.
Do you or someone you know have nice basement shop that deals with some or all of those problems gracefully?
Let us know in this thread. Describe the shop a bit, focusing on the challenges listed above but also pointing out anything interesting. You can even post a few pictures to help us get a sense of the space and individual features. Thanks a lot.
--Asa (editor)

From Knots Forum
Woodguys shop should qualify.
Any others???

pete

Basements are not all that common here in North Carolina are they?

[JackLeg]

Up here in the "hills" basements are a pretty regular thing. Now a great basement shop that's another! I'm sure there's someone out there who can qualify for that request.

[walnutjerry]

I think Jay Brewer in Winston Salem has a pretty nice basement shop. Have not seen him online lately though.

Jerry

[scsmith42]

Our very own Bas has a pretty nice basement shop...

[Bas]

Originally Posted by PeteM

The usual problems are limited space, high moisture, poor light and wiring, poor access, noise and dust migrating into living space, and the difficulty of hanging things on the walls.

My house has a full basement, 2/3 is living space (TV room), the rest is dedicated to my shop, around 400sq. ft.

I have all the usual problems you described. When we bought the place, there was substantial mold growing on the cinder block walls, it was really bad. Chlorox, elbow grease and Kilz got it under control, and a dehumidifier keeps it dry enough to prevent recurrence. Sealing the walls with a good primer and paint is essential, as is putting a floor over the concrete slab.

Lighting is an ongoing project. Originally, there was precisely one bulb hanging from the ceiling. I've added two shop lights and two 4' wraps, and I'm still adding more. It helps to add task lighting over the work bench and things like a magnetic light on the band saw.

Dust control is essential to keep the house clean. I have a fairly cheap setup (Harbor Freight unit), but it works well in keeping the chips and dust under control, especially since I added the trash can separator. The shop vac gets whatever is left. An air cleaner is next on the list of things to purchase. I've also started to pay more attention to dust control on the tools. The Ridgid ROS does really well when hooked up to the Shop Vac. I used a cheap Skil belt sander this evening, and it looked like a box of vital gluten exploded in the shop. I'm too cheap for Festool, but sorely tempted.
During the spring and fall, I also use a window fan to expel some of the dust (the shop has one small window fortunately).

Access is limited. The basement has a sliding door to the outside, but access to the shop door inside is restricted by the sectional sofa. Getting lumber and the 4x4 sheet material in isn't too much trouble, but heavy machinery requires some furniture moving. Luckily there are no stairs to contend with.

400sq.ft. isn't much, considering the shop also houses the HVAC system, well tank, as well as some stuff for the pets (food, bowls etc.). I have everything on mobile bases, to maximize space. Smaller boards can easily be cut, planed and jointed, the longer stuff requires the machines to be moved a little. Storage is the biggest problem, I plan to use the garage in the future to house a lumber rack.

Pictures? I got lots of pictures -> http://baspluim.googlepages.com/myworkshop
Also some pictures of the dust collection -> http://baspluim.googlepages.com/mountingthepipes

The drill press has since been upgraded, but other than that not much has changed.

Originally Posted by scsmith42

Our very own Bas has a pretty nice basement shop...

Why thank you Scott! That was enough motivation to reply to this thread.

[PeteM]

Bas (or whoever else wants in) - Surf on over to:

http://forums.taunton.com/fw-knots/messages?redirCnt=2

That's the request posted by Asa, the Editor of FWW.

pete

[Tom Dunn]

I have visited the basement shop of Max Woody's chair store in Marion.

It was NOT what you are looking for!!!

[PeteM]

Bas - I saw your post on FWW - Good luck !
Also checked out your website - Nice job.

What's a smeghead ????????

pete

[Bas]

That's from Red Dwarf, a British Sci-Fi comedy show. Sort of Monthy Python meets Star Trek. A smeghead is a mean, unpleasant person. Also used as "what the smeg?!?" and "Smeg off".

From the Red Dwarf FAQ:

It's a word made up by Grant Naylor for the characters to use as an
all-purpose profanity. Some fans have theorised that it was derived from
"smegma" (a particularly unpleasant bodily secretion), but Rob and Doug
deny this. In the interview on the CD included with the Six of the Best box
set, they state that "we wanted to invent a futuristic curse word which had
the right sort of consonant and vowel arrangement to make it sound like a
genuine . . . curse word." In an online chat session, Doug Naylor said "I
think it's Latin for clean, also there's an Italian washing machine company
called Smeg. Also each of the letters S-M-E-G stand for smelting metal and
something to do with the washing machine process." A detailed list of
"smeg" references in the show is available at
http://www.bristol.u-net.com/smegweb/docs/smeglist.html

[Travis Porter]

Similar to frak from Battlestar Galactica.

Originally Posted by Bas

That's from Red Dwarf, a British Sci-Fi comedy show. Sort of Monthy Python meets Star Trek. A smeghead is a mean, unpleasant person. Also used as "what the smeg?!?" and "Smeg off".

From the Red Dwarf FAQ:

It's a word made up by Grant Naylor for the characters to use as an
all-purpose profanity. Some fans have theorised that it was derived from
"smegma" (a particularly unpleasant bodily secretion), but Rob and Doug
deny this. In the interview on the CD included with the Six of the Best box
set, they state that "we wanted to invent a futuristic curse word which had
the right sort of consonant and vowel arrangement to make it sound like a
genuine . . . curse word." In an online chat session, Doug Naylor said "I
think it's Latin for clean, also there's an Italian washing machine company
called Smeg. Also each of the letters S-M-E-G stand for smelting metal and
something to do with the washing machine process." A detailed list of
"smeg" references in the show is available at
http://www.bristol.u-net.com/smegweb/docs/smeglist.html